


Lord Hermione?

by Alrym



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-03-25 19:10:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13841172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alrym/pseuds/Alrym
Summary: There was no troll in the girls bathroom in 1991. Hermione found no friends that night. Therefore the brightest witch of her age is on a perilous path. Because with magic it is so very true that knowledge is power. But is it also true that power corrupts? Will the only daughter of two dentists become the third Dark Lord that rises in Dumbledore's lifetime?





	1. Collision

### Collision

What had he done to deserve this? Harry Potter was out of his depth. Had he not lived through enough hardships in his fourth year so far?

It all began, when the Goblet of Fire had spit out a piece of parchment. It was the fourth piece of parchment. There should have only been three! And his name was on it. Even though he had not thrown it into the flames of the Goblet! He was effectively forced against his will to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Nobody believed him, when he told the truth. Thanks to the thrice forsaken event he became not only a liar but a leper in the eyes of the whole school including his own house Gryffindor. For weeks not even his best friend Ron Weasley had been willing to wish him a good day.

After miraculously surviving the first task everything seemed to get better. At least the other Gryffindors, including Ron, had chosen to get back on talking terms with him. It was just Harry's luck when Professor McGonagall announced that he had to appear not only at the Yule Ball, but also had to open the whole feast with a dance. For which he incidentally needed a partner of female sex …

What else was Harry supposed to do than summon up all of his courage? With bravery only a Gryffindor could muster, he asked Cho Chang to accompany him to the Yule Ball. Needless to say, that he received a negative answer. To make matters worse a whole swarm of girls giggled merrily at his expense.

In face of rejection Harry choose to retreat. At this point his unlucky streak did not end. No! Such a thing would only happen to an ordinary wizard. But Harry Potter was special! He had the misfortune to run into the only person nobody did mess with. In the literal sense.

That's why Harry found himself on the floor in a badly sorted heap of human limbs. His face was awkwardly pressed onto the cold hard stone floor of a hallway. Mind you the floor of a completely deserted hallway. Except for the only person the whole school did not dare to cross.

"How can anyone be that clumsy?" snarled Hermione Granger.

Before Harry realized what was happening, the witch rolled both of them around. Suddenly she was on top of him. Almost strangling him single handedly with the collar of his own robes while she used the other arm to threaten him with her wand. The tip was nearly poking him in the eye.

Many things went through Harry's head. In the most unhelpful manner his inner eye summoned images of a first year Hermione spooking no less than five Slytherins. And he remembered that other time when the Weasley twins had to stay over night with Madam Pomfrey not once or twice but three times over the course of a single month, just because they had pulled a prank on the irritable witch. The list went on almost endlessly. After the start of this term not even seventh years were safe. Supposedly she had cursed two of them for not handing a grimoire over fast enough.

Still beside himself Harry babbled the first thing that came to his mind.

Hermione's eyebrows closed onto each other. "I beg your pardon?"

"I'm sorry," Harry croaked. The stranglehold of the girl was unnaturally firm and just barely allowed him to breath.

"No, I want you to repeat what you said before!" The tip of Hermione's wand sparkled threateningly.

Panic flared, Harry tried to remember what he had just said. Had he begged for his life? Any promises made? No! The stress had prompted Harry to repeat those damned words he had been repeating in his head all day over and over again. Harry had a vision of his gravestone. His last words would be carved into it: "Do you want to go to the ball with me?"

Hermione glanced at him. "You would not dare to make fun of me!" Since this was a statement, she choose to add a huge interrogation mark: "Would you?"

Harry gasped: "No! Never!" when he was given opportunity by a lessened strangle of his throat.

To the great amazement of the boy-who-lived Hermione's expression relaxed abruptly. She left his collar alone and her wand retreated. Then she stood up and wiped non-existent dust from her school robe. Her eyes fixed Harry.

"A little short-termed. But you're lucky, I have not chosen a partner yet. Actually, I considered to completely skip the ball." The witch tried to explain. Harry held his breath, when he was allowed a short peek at Hermione's insecurity. "But since you are a champion, I am willing to make an exception and tag along."

Unable to even say a word, Harry stared at Hogwarts' fury. He had survived, but at what cost?

"Close your mouth and get up!" Hermione ordered her classmate.

Accompanied by a click of his teeth, Harry obeyed.

A wipe of her wand prompted Harry's scattered belongings to fly back into his satchel. Harry held his breath and stared. They had only started with summoning charms at the beginning of the year. It was beyond Harry's understanding how the witch from his class could make a multi targeted and silent version look easy. Hermione could make anybody feel inferior. It had been this way since the very first lesson. Hermione repeated the spell once more for her own satchel.

"You wanted to go that way." Hermione reminded her petrified counterpart before turning around and continuing her own path in the opposite direction.


	2. Second choice

### Second choice

Back in the Gryffindor Common Room Harry was now facing his best mate Ron Weasley. Or to be more exact, he would have faced the other wizard, had his hands not covered the entirety of his face. Harry pondered his fate. Had he really been born under an unlucky star as Professor Trelawny claimed?

"You did what?" Ron asked bewilderedly.

Harry spread his fingers in front of his glasses and looked at his friend. "I asked Hermione Granger, if she would accompany me to the Yule Ball!"

"You did not!" Ron said unbelievingly.

"I did!" Harry whispered incredulously. His fingers snapped shut and once more his eyes were hidden.

"But ..." Ron scratched his red hair. "But you wanted to ask Cho Chang!"

Harry's head nodded behind his hands. "I did!"

"Blimey! So you have two dates now?" Ron asked deeply impressed.

"No." Harry explained exhausted. "Cho declined." For a short moment, he even forgot that he was totally panicking over taking none other than Hermione Granger to the Yule Ball.

"So just let me get that straight..." Ron fell silent. In his head he reviewed their conversation. Finally he asked: "Cho declines your invitation and the second girl you ask is Hermione Granger?"

Harry groaned – again. "No, it was not like that at all ..."

"Wow! So you asked even more girls out?" Ron asked deeply impressed.

"No. I only asked Hermione." Harry repeated miserably.

"But ..." Ron just could not get over the facts. "But why?"

Harry started his explanation from the very beginning. "I ran into her." His hands visualized a collision. "We fell over each other." His fingers tumbled to the table. "Then one thing led to another." Harry wiggled his hands.

The redhead could not seem to understand at all. "That's no reason to invite her to the Yule Ball!" He thought that point over once more. "Is that a muggle thing? If you knock a girl over, you have to ask her to a dance?"

"No." Harry allowed his head to drop onto the table. "I've been repeating the question all day long in my head. Over and over again. To make sure I would get it out flawlessly at the right moment - do you understand?"

Ron snorted: "That was definitely not the right moment! You should have apologized. Maybe she would have hexed your nose off ... Madam Pomfrey can regrow that over the course of a day or maybe two..."

Harry threw his hands up in despair: "What am I supposed to do now?"

That was a very good question. Ron thought hard. His efforts were rewarded with an idea. "You claim you are ill."

"Sure." Harry confirmed sarcastically. "That is a failproof plan. I am sure Madam Pomfrey would allow me to hide in one of her beds without a reason. And certainly Hermione would never check on me in the Hospital Wing. And certainly she would not kill me with her bare hands once my lie is discovered."

Ron acknowledged that objection with a nod. "You could try to explain everything."

Harry looked disbelieving at his friend. Were they talking about the same Hermione Granger?

"You're right, you could not." Ron confirmed the silent objection. He nodded knowingly: "She would gouge your eyes out, rip out your teeth and skin you alive!"  
A shiver ran down Harry's spine. "What the heck are you talking about?"

"That's exactly what she did to the basilisk in second year!" Ron replied with a voice that was supposed to sound knowing.

"That is totally made up!" Harry protested.

"Oh? So you want to claim that she did not kill the Basilisk?" Ron questioned.

"Of course she did! Otherwise the school would have been closed. McGonagall said so herself."

"When you look into the eyes of a basilisk, you get petrified. Did you know that?" asked Ron.

"Everyone in Hogwarts knows that. After all, several students were petrified. They were lucky not to die because they did not look directly into the eyes." Naturally Harry had read the article in the Daily Prophet on basilisks.

"That's the proof," Ron said energetically. "Hermione must have done something with the eyes of the Basilisk so that its gaze could not harm her." Ron made clawing movements with his fingers.

"Certainly she did something. But that does not mean she used her bare hands! Surely she used some sophisticated protection spell or an illusion for diversion or something entirely different."

"Whether she scratched out the basilisk's eyes with her bare hands or did it with her wand, the result remains the same." Ron glossed over generously.  
"I think it makes a difference!" Harry argued.

"Who cares? It is still dead!" Ron argued right back.

"And that she ripped out its teeth and skinned it has not been proven either!" Harry announced determinedly. "Besides Hermione and Dumbledore, no one has ever seen the basilisk. Everything has been made up! That is all gossip!"

Ron did not give up easily, when he felt that he was right. "Basilisks are incredibly poisonous and their skin is almost as resistant as that of a dragon. Granger has probably harvested the skin and poison for her dark purposes. "

Harry did not even want to imagine his date skinning a basilisk, or siphoning off the poison. "Those are just rumors!"

"Okay." Ron smirked smugly. "So you want to tell me, you can not imagine Granger tearing the teeth out of the dead snake and skinning it!"

Harry's mouth opened to do just that. However a horrible memory crossed his mind. In their third year, Hagrid had brought a hippogriff named Buckbeak into class. The half-giant had the glorious idea that a student could feed the dangerous combination of eagle and horse. When he had revealed his mad plan, Hermione had been the only one to take a step forward. Hagrid had handed her a dead hare with an encouraging smile.

Without batting an eye, Hermione had looked at the animal in her hand and then at the much larger predator. She drew her wand and murmured "Diffindo!" At first no one – not even Hagrid – understood why she had done so. It was only after her wand had been stowed away, that the witch had shown them, what she had in mind. With a mighty rip Hermione had torn apart the fur.

The bloody piece of meat immediately attracted the Hippogriff. Hermione had held it up for the yellow eyes to stare at it, then threw it. The beast's mighty beak had plucked it out of the air and devoured it with obvious pleasure.

Afterwards the creature had bowed before Hermione and she had been allowed to pet the creature contently for the rest of the period. While Hagrid had given her eight points for making a correct assumption about the hippogriff's eating habits. Once more Ron's words spoken in first year had rang true: "She is scary! Brilliant, but scary!"

Ron interrupted Harry's thoughts: "Well mate, if Hermione does tear you from limb to limb, can I have your Firebolt?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Many thanks to ctc1000 who has beta-read this chapter and does not want to take credit for it!


	3. Dancing Lessons

### Dancing Lessons

Harry waited restlessly for the dismissal bell. It was the last lesson of the day and it was Friday. He was yearning to get off the hard wooden benches for the weekend. Professor McGonagall was handing out an assignment for transfiguration that would have to be completed by Monday. Harry looked forward to playing a game of Exploding Snape or Wizard's Chess with Ron. He would have preferred to take his Firebolt out for a fly but the dark clouds were ominous.

"And I really don't want to repeat myself again and again, but as you all should know by now, I want everybody's homework on my desk before the bell announces the beginning of our lesson! No hovering of parchments! And absolutely no enchanted paper birds!" The Head of House Gryffindor sternly told her students before finally dismissing them: "Have a nice weekend."

Harry's determination to quickly gather his ink, parchment and quills could not have been greater, if Professor Dumbledore had ordered him to leave the room immediately. He stuffed everything into his satchel in record time. Harry sighed however when he saw his best mate's lazy and sloth-like attempts at packing.  
"How can Granger always be the first to leave the class room?" Ron wondered aloud as the bushy haired girl disappeared.

"She probably used a summoning charm." Harry answered instead of noting that instead of complaining about others, she simply hurried. By the time Ron finished, they were the last students left in the room.

"Mr. Potter, one moment, if you please." said Professor McGonagall. The request was obviously meant to be an order.

Harry froze as he was about to exit. He glanced at Ron, who in turn was blinking in confusion. Was he in trouble again? The uncertainty on his friend's face mirrored Harry's own state of mind. Their Head of House inspected the two young wizards. "Blimey!" Ron whispered quite loudly "I'll wait in the Common Room for you."

Left behind by his mate, Harry turned around and went reluctantly to the head desk. "Yes, Professor?"

"Mister Potter, it was recently brought to my attention that you are still in need of a partner for the Yule Ball."

Harry was surprised that McGonagall was interested in his personal life. Instead of correcting his Head of House, he asked: "It was brought to your attention?"

"Yes, accidentally." The professor pursed her lips in slight disapproval. "I overheard a couple of girls talking about your failed attempt to court Miss Chang."

At that moment, Harry wished the ground would open and swallow him up. It had only been two days ago, but his rejection was so well known that the teachers had heard about it?

"Mr. Potter. I can understand why you would choose to ask out Miss Chang." The professor had a small smile for her most difficult but bravest Gryffindor. "However... perhaps it would be better to invite a girl in your own year."

Harry nodded noncommittally. He did not need a lecture on how Cho was out of his league. She was sporty, clever and a real cutie and unfortunately he was not the only one to realize this.

Professor McGonagall chose her next words carefully. "Alternatively, you might ask a girl from the third year to accompany you. Perhaps you are not aware, but they are not allowed to attend without an invitation by a student of fourth year or above. You would be less likely to be rejected."

For the very first time, Harry was glad that he had bumped into Hermione. "Thank you for your concern. But I already have a partner."

Professor McGonagall was surprised. "Really?"

Harry was rather annoyed by the lack of confidence of his Head of House!

The elder witch raised an eyebrow. "If I may ask, who did you invite?"

Harry wasn't sure if McGonagall thought he was lying or if she was asking out of curiosity. He hesitantly responded "Hermione Granger."

"Miss Granger?" The older woman's eyes widened. "That ... is nice."

There was a long pause. Harry didn't feel a need to volunteer more details. "May I go now?"

"Pardon?" Professor McGonagall had been deep in thought. She looked at Harry uncertainly. "You realize that you will have to dance?"

"Yes. I'm aware of that. You did mention it before." Harry confirmed.

"You have to open the Ball with the other champions. Does Miss Granger know that too?"

"Uh ..." Harry swore to himself. He had completely forgotten to tell her!

"... dance lessons for the both of you …" Both of the professor's eyebrows had risen by now. "I'll post the time and place on the notice board in the Common Room."  
Harry hurriedly took his leave. He wondered if he should tell Hermione in person or wait until she found out in another way. Maybe Professor McGonagall would deliver this message. There was no need to discuss this with Ron. It was obvious for Harry, which course of action his best mate would suggest.

Harry wandered lost in thought. On the one hand, Professor McGonagall had authority over members of her house. Still, even if it was an accident, Harry had asked Hermione to the dance. He didn't want her to be embarrassed, and truthfully, he hoped that they would have a good time. He wiped the sweat off his brow and took a deep breath to calm down. He was a Gryffindor and he had faced greater challenges in the past. With determination, he walked into the library to seek out Hermione.  
She was easy to spot. The bushy haired witch had commandeered the central table for herself, and there were piles of thick grimoires. Everything on the table belonged to her. The other students knew that it was the height of foolishness to encroach on Hermione's studies. Rumors circulated on what happened to idiots who had dared to touch Hermione's books, or even worse, mix up her notes. Even the Slytherins knew not to bother Hermione in the library.

"What do you want?" asked Hermione. She lifted her gaze from her parchment while her quill kept on scribbling down some obscure notes.

Surprised that she had noticed him so quickly, Harry froze for a moment. Only after Hermione had huffed and returned to reading, did Harry find his voice. "We have to dance."

Hermione looked up instantly. Her brown eyes stared at Harry with no expression. "I don't have to do anything."

"McGonagall ... I'm a champion ... opening dance at Yule Ball." Harry stuttered.

"I see." Hermione turned her attention back to her parchment. Harry noticed it was some sort of complicated arithmantic formula.

Lesser wizards would have backed away meekly. But Harry was no coward. He took his time to think about exactly what he wanted to say: "McGonagall wants us to take lessons in dancing. She'll post when and where on the board in the Common Room."

After finishing another paragraph, Hermione glanced at him. "I've got no time for that."

Harry was unsure how to proceed. In his head, a voice that sounded surprisingly like his best mate shouted that he should let McGonagall deal with Hermione. If she refused, then their Head of House might break the arrangement, and find Harry some other witch. That witch would not hex Harry for stepping on her toes. Instead of going along with the voice, Harry blurted out: "Do you know how to dance?"

"No." Hermione spared Harry another glance before immersing herself in her book.

The youngest champion of the Triwizard Tournament suppressed his annoyance. "I have to open the Yule Ball with the first dance.” He stressed: “With you.”

This time Hermione did not even spare him a glance. "Alright."

Harry sighed relieved. He was about to leave the witch to her studies, but at the last moment he wanted to confirm their agreement: "So you'll attend the dancing lessons?"

Hermione turned a page casually. "No."

Slowly and carefully, Harry summarized the facts: "You do understand, that we have to dance in front of everybody? You don't know how to dance, just like me? But you're still refusing to attend dancing lessons?"

"Three out of three." Hermione confirmed.

Harry was not the only wizard who feared the serious and studious girl. It was common knowledge Hermione was not one to be crossed. Nevertheless, Harry was getting annoyed. He argued: "But we have to practice, otherwise we'll be ridiculed by all three schools!"

Hermione's head jerked up and she stared at him, in a rather unfriendly manner. Her right hand was noticeably hidden in her school robe. Harry realized he had gone too far and he suspected that he was on the verge of being hexed.

Instead of delivering a curse however, Hermione faintly smiled. Her left hand tapped her notes, as if the formulas had some secret meaning. "Don't worry. You take those dancing lessons."

In desperation, Harry cried "But we'll be dancing together. We both have to practice!" Visions of Hermione cursing him for a misstep danced through his mind.  
Without looking up, Hermione replied, "And that's where you're wrong. Only one of us needs to know how to dance."

"But how?" Harry asked uncertainly.

Before giving her next answer, Hermione checked the formula that she had written down during their conversation. She smiled, as if certain she had solved a difficult problem.

Harry was about to leave since he had been ignored for nearly a minute when Hermione said casually. "I have figured it out. You're the only one who needs to attend the lesson."

The Gryffindor was more than a little frustrated: "You're not making sense. We have to practice dancing. I don't want us to look bad in front of our classmates or the other schools."

In a confident voice, Hermione replied: "You have my word that I will not make you look bad."

"But how?" Harry repeated. Hermione clearly had thought of something, but he didn't understand her line of reasoning.

The bushy haired witch imperiously declared "That is not your concern."

"It matters to me…." Harry wanted to start his next objection, but he was interrupted.

"My time is valuable!" Hermione hissed. She stared him in the eyes, as if daring him to object further.

In his four years at Hogwarts, Harry had faced many difficult situations. This one was kind of new. But if he could handle a Hungarian Horntail, he could deal with a witch and an opening waltz. Nonetheless for the moment there was nothing he could do and it was time to leave. As he exited the library, he missed Hermione's eyes measuring him.


	4. Yule Ball

Somehow, it was still a secret whom Harry had invited to the Yule Ball. Hermione had not caved in and had been absent in each and every one of Professor McGonagall's dancing lessons. Therefore Harry had practiced with various girls from Gryffindor. Once even Professor McGonagall had the misfortune to place a toe beneath Harry's clumsy foot.

In the privacy of his very own head, Harry wondered why McGonagall had not announced these exercising hours earlier. During the dancing lessons, it would have been easy to ask one of the girls to accompany him. Some of them had hinted at their willingness so obviously that even Harry had taken notice of it.

At least once per lesson the Yule Ball had been mentioned by one of his various partners. Harry remembered that Parvati had been the first to ask: "Who are you going to the ball with?" He had answered truthfully: "Hermione Granger" The pretty witch had furrowed her pristine forehead. "If you don't want to tell me, that's okay. But don't take me for an idiot."

No matter whom or how often Harry had told, that Hermione was his date, no one was willing to accept his word for it. This reminded Harry of his denials of voluntarily entering the Tournament. It was extraordinary how obtuse people at Hogwarts could be.

It was a sobering thought, but it was likely that most students were still believing, that he had cheated his way into the tournament. Maybe they had only arranged themselves with the idea, that he risked his life for their entertainment and indirect fame.

Harry paced in front of the fireplace nervously. His imagination colorized vivid pictures of everything, that possibly could go wrong. Most of them were centered on stumbling or some other sort of mishap. But there was something else, that frightened Harry even more: What if Hermione was executing her revenge upon him right now? What if she did not plan on going to the Yule Ball at all?

Harry lost track of his thoughts. An eery silence fell over the common room. All students were looking around in confusion. One by one their glances fixed upon one single point. Finally, everyone's face was turned toward the stairwell of the girls' dorms.

A young woman of indisputable beauty stood on the last stair. Her brown hair was braided and piled up so that her slender neck was on full display. Although Harry had no idea what chiffon was, it nevertheless clung to her well-shaped body. Her dress was periwinkle blue, which flattered her rather pale skin. The cut was not revealing, and the dress was rather demure in a sophisticated way. She was truly gorgeous, in an innocent manner. She took his breath away.

The witch seemed familiar. But try as he might, he could not place her. Harry wasn't the only Gryffindor impressed by this witch. Slowly, conversations restarted. They had a new topic. Which year was this student from? And even more important: How could such a girl have slipped past everyone's notice?

After she had soaked up enough admiration, the young woman stepped down from her elevated position. She was smiling while she steered into Harry's direction. He almost cringed when she told him: "We can take our leave now."

Harry would have recognized this voice anywhere. He had had the dubious honor of listening to it for years. Whenever the cleverest student of their generation answered a question, this voice was to be heard.

Harry had run through many scenarios for the Yule Ball. But a gorgeous Hermione was not one of them. Only in the empty hallway did he dare to speak: "Wow ... you ... wow!"

Hermione was rather amused by how flustered the wizard next to her was. It was funny to watch him steal glances of her when he thought she couldn't see. Every so often he opened his mouth, but nothing came out. It was rather flattering, albeit a little silly. At some point she became impatient: "Just spit it out! What do you want to say?"

Harry stammered. "You are beautiful!"

The witch rolled her eyes upon the creativity she had instilled in Harry. She made a mocking curtsy. "I know. But thanks anyway." A soft gleam in her eyes took away any sting from her words.

A lopsided grin crept onto Harry's face. He had never imagined Hermione could be mischievous. Harry had a hard time concentrating on their way down to the Entrance Hall. He tried not to be obvious in starting at the beautiful girl next to him. But he could not help himself, and whenever they passed a polished armor plate or anything reflective, he tried to gaze at her image.

Hermione took over the lead. Harry was preoccupied with stealing glances at her, and she was happy to meander around, taking a few detours. Harry realized that she had no desire to arrive early at the dance.

When they were coming closer to the Great Hall, Hermione linked their arms together. "Everybody should be there by now." Then she walked side by side with him to the last staircase ending in the Entrance Hall.

The double door to the Great Hall was closed. Therefore everyone had to wait in the Entrance Hall. Harry froze in the face of the large number of assembled students. He was supposed to dance in front of this crowd?

"What are you waiting for? We need to go to the other champions." Hermione demanded impatiently. For once, Harry was grateful that Hermione was this bossy. Otherwise, he would have been petrified in front of the entirety of Hogwarts.

Harry had expected they would need to push through masses of students. But the crowd parted for them as if they were royalty. Heads turned, and many mouths opened wide in shock. Harry and Hermione walked through regally. Blimey, Harry thought. People must be even more scared of Hermione when she is smiling.

"There you are!" Professor McGonagall beckoned the couple over. "Your place is right here!" She gestured at a space next to Victor Krum. The Bulgarian Seeker and his date were placed on the right side of the portal to the Great Hall.

The other champions and their partners stood opposite Harry and Hermione. Fleur Delacour was accompanied by Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw's Quidditch captain. Harry blanched. The cause was Cedric Diggory's escort. To his great astonishment, horror, and envy, Harry found himself facing another member of Ravenclaw's Quidditch team. Cho Chang was as beautiful as Fleur Delacour and Hermione.

Cho nodded at Harry. Harry need neither a crystal ball or tea leaves to take a peak on a very possible and very horrific future. He vowed to keep Hermione away from Cho at all costs. A shudder ran through him when he imagined Cho telling Hermione that she was his second choice.

A creak interrupted Harry's musings. It underlined the opening of the ancient double door to the Great Hall. Numerous round tables had replaced the four House Tables and the room was decorated festively. Huge Christmas trees were placed in the corners and large banners represented the three schools.

The entry into the Great Hall began with the students from Durmstrang. Their headmaster had gathered them and marched them forward as if they were a military unit. Afterwards, it was more relaxed and chaotic. Neither Madam Maxime or any of the Hogwarts teachers saw a need to coordinate their students.

As the students walked through, the champions still waited to enter. They were being inspected by the other people attending the Yule Ball.

"Everybody is staring at you," Harry whispered as the crowd passed by them. Apparently, the rest of the school was as impressed with Hermione's transformation as Harry. "Have you used a spell to look so beautiful?"

The words echoed in the young wizard's head like church bells in a silent night. Harry winced as he immediately realized he had put his foot into his mouth. Harry quickly peeked at Hermione's face, as he stood next to her, holding her hand. Initially, her face clouded over with a mask of barely controlled anger. But as he was quickly searching for an apology, or perhaps an easy way to grovel, a Yule miracle happened. Her face cleared up, and a smile settled on her lips. "An odd compliment."

Harry sighed in relief. He swore to think carefully before saying anything else tonight. He also vowed to keep Cho and Hermione apart.

When everyone had finally passed the four champions and their partners, Harry's feet hurt from standing. McGonagall made another appearance. "Yout’ll enter the Great Hall in the order in which the Goblet of Fire spat your names out."

The reason for this directive became obvious when Victor Krum walked through the double door. As he set the first foot across the threshold, the light of all torches and candles weakened. Fiery blue letters were written: Victor Krum, Durmstrang. The over-sized school banner on the left wall fluttered. It was the Durmstrang crest. The double-headed eagle wrested itself free from the green background he had been stitched on. The bird spread its wings and flew over the heads of the students. The illusion dissipated only when Victor and his companion had taken their seat.

Following the champion of Durmstrang was Fleur Delacour. The lights were still dim so the French witch's name could be read easily. The Beauxbaton's emblem on the right wall flapped. Its crossed wands became corporal. They sprayed a shower of stars high into the air. Upon their descent, these stars turned into palm-sized snowflakes. A merry jingle sounded whenever one came in contact with something and shattered into nothing.

As Cedric entered the Great Hall, Harry was distracted by Hermione. She was murmuring incantations and gesturing with her wand.

"What are you doing?" Harry whispered.

Harry looked at Cedric's show just in time, to see the four animals of the Houses, rip out of the coat of arms on the wall opposite the main entrance. The Hufflepuff badger marched proudly right over Cedric's head, while Gryffindor's lion, Ravenclaw's eagle, and Slytherin's snake soared through the air to members of their own houses. As far as Harry could determine, Hermione had not affected Cedric's entry.

Finally, it was Harry and Hermione's turn. Her wand was hidden once again in her robes and they hooked their arms together. Harry began to walk through the great door. His name and school were also written in blue fire. Again a banner started to flutter. It was once more Hogwarts' school crest.

Harry was already waiting for the lion to come over to him when Hermione whispered: "Finite!"

The Hogwarts coat of arms stopped flapping.

Harry felt a twitch of Hermione's right hand beneath his left arm. A cold breeze blew out all candles and torches. Harry stood rooted to the spot as darkness rushed over the entire Great Hall. Only the moon and the stars of the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall were still offering light.

A rattling breath could be heard. Contours appeared. At first, they were hard to see. As everyone's eyes were slowly accustoming to the darkness, it became apparent, that there was some figure hovering.

It did not matter, that Hermione had only produced a translucent and colorless illusion. The light conditions were very poor and the shape was very close to the original. A phantasm of a dementor floated in the air above the High Table.

With a whisper, Hermione leaned against Harry: "I’ve heard you can cast a Patronus." When Harry made no move for his wand, Hermione added: "Alternatively, we could walk to the table of honor, while the illusion of the Dementor remains floating there. Alas, that would be quite the anti-climatic show."

Harry ground his teeth. He hated to be the center of attention. He drew his wand and spoke the magic formula loudly: "Expecto Patronum!" Silver light burst from the tip of his wand and blinded everyone.

When students and professors stopped blinking, a stag stood in front of them, made out of pure light. Unlike the sun one did not feel the caress of warmth on the skin but in one's heart. The sinister atmosphere was banished. All the wizards and witches present realized they had nothing to fear.

"Amazing!" Hermione whispered. Harry was surprised to see admiration on her face. He knew that his Patronus was quite impressive. It had driven away many dementors in his third year. Still given Hermione's reputation, he had thought she could also summon one.

The stag stormed forward and the dark shapes that comprised the illusion appeared to flee in front of the incandescent creature. The image of the dementor unraveled as clearly it could not stand against Harry's spell.

Hermione had extinguished all candles and torches and she made no effort to reverse this. Thus Harry led the witch only in the warm light of his majestic Patronus over to her place.

A gesture of Dumbledore's wand made torches and candles flare up again. "Since we've all been reminded of how the champions are named and where they come from, we can continue." After waiting for some polite laughs, the headmaster started his speech: "First of all I would like to thank all witches and wizards for showing up on this wonderful evening. I hope that our foreign visitors have made themselves at home here in Hogwarts."

After loud applause, Dumbledore went on. "The Triwizard Tournament is not about three tasks but it is about young people. For centuries, bonds of friendship have been forged over the tournament. It was our desire to give every one of you the opportunity to take part in this tradition."

"The Triwizard Tournament is a simile of life. Sometimes we’re the only one to face a task. Sometimes in face of danger or a challenge, we may feel alone and abandoned, but we’re not. Friends and family are always just one thought away, even when they are not present." Silence fell over the Great Hall.

"I’ve come to the end of my little speech." Dumbledore twinkled. "First I’ve to thank the Minister of Magic for his support. Preparation and execution of the Triwizard Tournament would have been impossible without the help of the ministry. Therefore please welcome once more in our midst Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports!"

Both men rose when their name was called out. Both wizards were applauded. The second applause was almost deafening, while the first could be faintly described as polite.

At this point, Harry's attention wandered. Mr. Crouch droned on, in an extremely boring manner. Ludo Bagman tried to speak more enthusiastically about sports and Quidditch. But Mr. Bagman was not the most eloquent speaker, and Harry preferred to steal glances at Hermione anyway.

Before he realized what was happening, the three other champions rose. Harry followed their example hurriedly, almost knocking over his chair and eliciting a look of warning from Hermione. Harry extended his hand to his date, giving her ample time to rise up elegantly. He was not eager to show the skills he had acquired in the dance lessons. Even with the beautiful Fleur Delacour on the floor, he knew many eyes would be on Hermione and him.

Only when they were about to begin the waltz, Harry realized that his plus one had not attended a single dancing lesson! That did not bode well at all. He turned slightly anxious as Hermione's hand searched for a good spot to rest on his shoulder.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Dear reader, if you think this is an original work of art, I have marvelous news for you: There are actual books called Harry Potter, which you should take a look at!


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